Bearkats will play at renovated Bowers Stadium for first time in 652 days as Golden Hurricane arrives after upset of Oklahoma State
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — For nearly two years, Sam Houston football has waited to come home.
That wait ends Saturday night.
The Bearkats will host Tulsa at 6 p.m. Saturday at Bowers Stadium, marking Sam Houston’s first football game at the venue since Nov. 29, 2024, and the first game inside the newly renovated stadium.
Sam Houston’s last appearance at Bowers came in a 20-18 victory over Liberty to close the 2024 regular season. Saturday will come 652 days later and will serve as the football debut of the new $60 million Bowers Stadium West Side Complex, which was formally dedicated July 30. The project includes suites, club seating and new fan, media and football operations areas.
For Sam Houston coach Phil Longo, the return carries more meaning than most games.
“I have a lot of great memories on that field,” Longo said this week. “Those great memories and the experiences and the friendships I have here are the biggest reason that I’m back. I mean, I love this place.”
Longo said there will be time to appreciate the moment when the Bearkats run onto the field, but not much.
“We got a lot of touchdowns and a lot of yards and a lot of wins and a lot of championships on that field,” Longo said. “To be here for two years and not be able to call a single play, watch a single coin flip, yeah, I’m looking forward to Saturday.”
After that, he said, the focus shifts entirely to Tulsa.
“Keep the main thing the main thing,” Longo said. “And that’ll be the game.”
Bearkats look to build on close loss at Troy
Sam Houston enters the home opener at 0-1 after falling 24-21 at Troy on Saturday.
The Bearkats finished with 373 yards of offense and outgained Troy, which had 342. Quarterback Landyn Locke completed 30 of 46 passes for a career-high 335 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. It was the most passing yards by a Sam Houston quarterback since Eric Schmid threw for 359 against Montana State in 2021.
Grady O’Neill caught seven passes for 86 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Reed caught a 31-yard touchdown pass with 1:03 remaining to pull Sam Houston within three.
The Bearkats struggled to establish the run, however, finishing with just 38 rushing yards as a team. Alton McCaskill led Sam Houston with 51 yards on 13 carries.
Longo said there were encouraging signs despite the loss.
He pointed to Sam Houston’s discipline, effort and conditioning and said the Bearkats came away from Troy with areas they can build on.
“I thought we played maturely,” Longo said. “I thought we played with some discipline.”
One play that proved costly came immediately after halftime when Locke was intercepted on the first play of the third quarter. Troy turned the short field into a field goal to take a 17-14 lead.
Longo said Sam Houston’s response following that turnover was one area he wants improved.
“I would love to see the offense respond better after the pick,” Longo said. “We stalled out twice before we got something going again.”
He said that response is as much about mentality as scheme.
“Having a short memory,” Longo said. “I’m pretty confident that our approach and our response to that kind of situation next time will be different.”
Tulsa arrives after stunning Oklahoma State
The challenge becomes considerably tougher Saturday with a Tulsa team coming to Huntsville after one of the notable results of college football’s opening weekend.
The Golden Hurricane defeated Oklahoma State 24-10 on Saturday despite entering the game as a double-digit underdog. Tulsa was listed as a 13.5-point underdog in the matchup.
Tulsa’s defense forced four turnovers, including two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, while holding Oklahoma State to 10 points. The Golden Hurricane also stopped the Cowboys twice on fourth-and-1.
The victory gave Tulsa consecutive wins over Oklahoma State for the first time since the 1951 and 1952 seasons. It was also Tulsa’s first home victory over the Cowboys since 1998.
“That was the biggest part of that game,” Longo said of Tulsa’s takeaways. “I think four turnovers. I think there were two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.”
Although Tulsa did not consistently turn those takeaways directly into points, Longo said they changed the game.
“They were hard to overcome over the long haul because it flipped the field,” Longo said. “It changed field position. It changed morale and momentum.”
Longo said Tulsa’s physicality stood out just as much.
“They’re physical,” he said. “It is a really, really physical football team on both sides of the ball. And I think at the end of the day, the turnovers and the physicality piece were the two biggest reasons that Tulsa beat Oklahoma State.”
Tulsa offense presents multiple problems
Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes completed 17 of 24 passes for 227 yards with a touchdown and an interception against Oklahoma State while adding 28 yards rushing.
Running back Damari Alston carried 15 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns, while Oran Singleton caught four passes for 99 yards and a touchdown.
Longo said Tulsa’s size is immediately noticeable on film, particularly along both lines of scrimmage.
“A bigger team,” Longo said. “A very, very good effective front four. They’re long. They have speed and they have power.”
Defensively, Sam Houston will have to account for Tulsa’s quarterback run threat in addition to its running backs.
“They have two of them running backs that we think are really good,” Longo said. “They’re solid players, they’re physical players, they can move a little bit. And behind that O-line, it’s a concern.”
Containing the quarterback will also be a priority.
“It obviously is always a concern when you have a quarterback who can run the football,” Longo said. “That’ll be the big test defensively.”
Battle begins in the trenches
For Longo, Saturday’s matchup starts with Sam Houston’s offensive line against a deep Tulsa defensive front.
Tulsa held Oklahoma State to 127 rushing yards and recorded two sacks in the season opener. The Golden Hurricane defense allowed 368 total yards but repeatedly came up with stops in critical situations. Oklahoma State finished 5 of 16 on third down and 2 of 6 on fourth down.
Tulsa also rotates heavily along the defensive line.
“They play a lot of guys,” Longo said. “Every third or fourth rep, you’re going to see a rotation and you’re going to see two or three more come in.”
Longo estimated Tulsa could use eight to 10 defensive linemen throughout the game.
“They keep them fresh,” he said. “When you do that, you allow linebackers to be able to run.”
That could make Sam Houston’s ability to generate a rushing attack particularly important after the Bearkats managed 38 yards on the ground at Troy.
Longo said Sam Houston was pleased overall with the offensive line’s performance in the opener, especially in pass protection, but wants more production in the running game.
“I think we want more out of our guys in the run game,” Longo said.
Sam Houston defensive front showing progress
One area Longo came away pleased with against Troy was the Bearkats’ defensive front.
Longo called the defensive line one of Sam Houston’s most improved position groups entering the season and said the unit showed the same qualities in the opener that coaches had seen throughout preseason camp.
“They’re relentless,” Longo said.
Sam Houston has also developed greater depth along the defensive line, allowing the Bearkats to adjust personnel based on situation.
“We can mix and match what we want up front based on what the need is on that particular down and distance,” Longo said. “It is the luxury of depth, which didn’t exist here in the past for us.”
That depth could become important against a Tulsa offensive line Longo described as physical.
“I know our defensive staff respects that O-line,” Longo said. “We feel like that’s going to be a physical battle.”
Tulsa defense thriving on takeaways
The turnover battle presents one of Saturday’s clearest statistical storylines.
Tulsa enters the game with a plus-3 turnover margin after forcing four Oklahoma State turnovers while committing one itself.
Sam Houston is minus-1 after Locke’s interception against Troy.
Tulsa linebacker Chris Thompson Jr. was named American Conference Defensive Player of the Week after recording a game-high 10 tackles, recovering a fumble and adding a quarterback hurry against Oklahoma State. Thompson was involved in two critical fourth-down stops.
Tulsa’s four takeaways helped compensate for some offensive inefficiency. The Golden Hurricane converted only 1 of 11 third downs against Oklahoma State and committed nine penalties for 102 yards.
Sam Houston, meanwhile, committed only 35 penalty yards against Troy.
Locke headlines improved passing attack
Despite the loss, Sam Houston’s passing game provided one of the biggest positives from Week 1.
Locke spread his 30 completions among nine receivers and threw touchdown passes to O’Neill, Darrick Bledsoe III and Reed.
Longo credited player development and increased depth for the progress Sam Houston has made at receiver.
“The receivers are definitely better,” Longo said.
He pointed to Tim Burns as an example of that development and credited strength coach Blair Vaughn, receivers coach Keon Williams and the players themselves.
Longo said Sam Houston now has enough depth that the Bearkats do not have to rely on the same receivers for nearly every offensive snap.
“We have four, maybe even five right now that we feel like we can roll through in the receiver room,” Longo said.
A new Bowers Stadium era begins
Saturday will be about more than Sam Houston trying to even its record.
It will represent the beginning of a new era at Bowers Stadium.
Construction forced the Bearkats away from their traditional home throughout the 2025 season. The newly completed West Side Complex was dedicated this summer and Saturday will mark its first football game.
The last time Sam Houston played at Bowers Stadium, the Bearkats defeated Liberty 20-18 on Nov. 29, 2024.
Saturday night, 652 days later, they return.
Sam Houston is also planning a new element to the game-day atmosphere. Fans attending the Tulsa game will receive LED wristbands using CrowdSync technology, allowing synchronized lighting effects throughout the stadium.
For Longo, however, the emotion surrounding the return will eventually give way to the same objective as every Saturday.
Win.
“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t excited about returning to Bowers,” Longo said.
Kickoff: 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12
Location: Bowers Stadium, Huntsville
Records: Tulsa 1-0; Sam Houston 0-1
TV: ESPN+